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 Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 11:46 am
 Ieldi Journal: Sosiqui This is Odilen's house, please do not post without her, or her Keeper's, permission."]
[shelf info: coming soon!]
[profession: n/a]
To learn more about the Ieldi, visit Kyendi by clicking the image below:
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:17 am
  Name: Odilen Age: Infant Influence: Mute Swan Gender: Female Eyes: Light Brown Hair: Gray-Blue Personality: Is very quiet, and enjoys playing and reading quietly by herself, nothing too energetic just yet. She seems extremely scared of the ground and the edge of the shelf, and indeed of anything she's not intimately familiar with. It takes her a while to adjust to new objects and people in her environment. While she sleeps, she seems haunted by horrific night-terror inducing nightmares. Likes: Looking at picture books, playing in the water-dish, her music box. Pet Peeves: ??? Favorite Color: Soft, muted tones similar to her own colors. Favorite Food: Pears and cashews! Favorite Animal: Swan. Talents: ??? Appearance: Odilen has silvery skin covered in fine feathers, with the beginnings of powerful wings sprouting from her arms. Previous Life: To be added later...
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:18 am
Please do not take these items; they were either made or purchased by me.The shelf we occupy is near the middle of the Tree, above a terrace and overlooking both the Phoenix Nest and the pond. Our closest neighbor is Karma and her Safrinni, with Euphoric on the other side. n_n Currently, the shelf has nothing on it but a small tent, where Odilen and I sleep. Most of our posessions are packed away in boxes until I can get Odilen to come down so we can live in the Keeper's Quarters. What we didn't pack away is inside the tent. Usually the shelf is decorated with these items - however, at the moment they're packed away waiting for Odilen to be ready to move down from the shelf: A string of small paper lanterns is strung between the two branch-prongs that surround the shelf. As there's no electricity in the tree they are lit by magic. This large ceramic bowl (it's sink-sized) is filled with cool, clear water. A nice linen cloth sits nearby, as well as some small glass pieces. The glass is rounded off like beachworn pebbles, so there are no sharp edges. Next to it is a jar of shiny water-salt crystals. These windchimes hang from an outside branch. The chimes are made of strong glass and make a melodic sound when the wind blows. On the other outside branch is this dreamcatcher. I recently obtained this lovely ceramic music box, with a swan carving on top - it plays a piece from the ballet Swan Lake. I also keep this pretty vase and flowers carefully watered, so that the petals and sweet scent will last a long time. This hourglass is part of my chronomancy equipment. It's almost always around SOMEWHERE.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:18 am
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:19 am
 Sosiqui - that'd be me. :3 In a nutshell, human girl, obsessed with chronomancy, or time magic. Moved to Gaia a little over a year ago as the wild magic conditions made it ideal for studying obscure fields of magic like chronomancy. Life changed forever one day in April when I stumbled into a glade and met the Kyunkunru Pantheon, Chronos in particular...
Shut up. stare
Anyway, now I have quite a few of the Kin to look after. @_@ How will I ever finish my research with all these distractions? Oh dear. Still... it's rather nice to have a family...  During my adventures with the Pantheon down the rabbit hole - don't ask me to explain, you wouldn't believe me if I told you - I rescued this little kyunru egg. This was on April 19th I believe...
On July 16th, Solstice arrived! 4laugh She's small, cute, and rather quiet at the moment. Very much the baby of the family. n_n This kun-kun gem was trusted to me by a good friend, Konaru! I got the gem on April 20th, and on July 16th the kun-kun emerged!
Rhumba is protective and a bit fierce, but also very curious. He likes to zing around the tree and pester people, but always returns if there's a need. He acts like an older brother to Solstice, although they're the same age. Pantalai is... well, I won't explain everything. He's bound to me in a certain way, we'll just say that. (And the way isn't love, either. Nor is it precisely friendship...)
Panta babysits for Solstice and Rhumba sometimes, and takes an avid interest in the goings-on in the village tree. He also likes to wax poetic about EVERYTHING, and abuse the thesaurus dreadfully while doing so. He also enjoys a bit of artistic angsting now and then, and frequently has arguements with Rhumba about which of them is more bishounen.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:19 am
Please do not take these items; they were either made/purchased by me, or given as gifts. Two glass bowls hold fresh, ripe strawberries and a bunch of tasty grapes. There's also a nice, blue-and-white cake to nibble on. A beautiful blue and white box sits to one side. It contains a good collection of items saved for Odilen to enjoy. Inside the box are a couple toys for Odilen: two swan plushies, a cuddly air-elemental kittenbomb, a small black swan doll, a blue cat plushie from Zero Dream, and a beanbag plush of Odlien's spirit form made by Tiagra. Some more fragile items have been put away inside the chest as well, kept carefully in a locked compartment within. There is a beautiful hand-painted fan, a pretty orb from Zydeco, and a bottle of pure starlight.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:19 am
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:19 am
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:22 am
Originally posted May 8th, 2004
Sosiqui climbed up the ladder to the shelf for the first time, still more than a little amazed at the tree from another world. And Rasu had said this was a SMALL tree. A small tree! Hah! This little 'shelf' itself was about the size of her bedroom - which was small, true, but still. She'd been expecting a bookshelf.
After surveying the area, she climbed back down. The next few hours saw her up and down the ladder more times than she cared to count, depositing odd bundles and, once, a large wood bowl-like thing that almost made her fall off the ladder. Finally, she came up with just her backpack, and sat down with a "phew" in the middle of the stuff.
"Well, here we are," she proclaimed, taking off the backpack and bringing out her kyunru egg and kun-kun gem. "Shelf sweet shelf, I guess. Um. There aren't walls or anything..."
The egg wriggled a bit, and she looked at it sternly. "You fall off, you'll be very unhappy. And I will be very unhappy. Got that?" The egg quivered but did not roll. She picked it up and nestled deeply into a small beanbag chair, and placed the gem next to it. "There we go. No way you can roll out of that. No, that is not a challenge so don't even think about it..."
She looked around at the assorted bundles and poked at the nearest one with her foot. "Well, time to get... organized... I guess..."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:22 am
Originally posted May 9th, 2004The Story of the Swan PrincessQuote: In this fairy tale, the Prince, Siegfried, is urged to select a bride by his mother. However, he is more interested in trying out the birthday present from his friends, a crossbow. Siegfried and his friends go hunting and the prince comes upon a lake in the evening where he sees a swan turn into a beautiful maiden, Odette. The Prince falls in love with the maiden and proposed marriage. As the sun rises, the maiden reverts back to a swan. A ball is held to celebrate Siegfried's coming of age and princesses from Spain, Hungary and Italy attend, hoping to be selected by the Prince as his bride. A girl disguised as Odette attends the ball and tricks Siegfried into thinking his beloved is there. When the real Odette appears, Odile, the imposter, works to convince Siegfried that she is really Odette. She is successful, Siegfried presents Odile as his betrothed and Odette leaves the ball devastated, returning to the lake to be comforted by the swans. Siegfried realizes too late that he made a mistake and follows Odette to the lake. He is torn between his commitment to Odile and love for Odette. Unable to make a decision, Siegfried abandons this world by jumping into the lake. Odile and Odette are both distraught. The swans of the lake unite to drive Odile, the imposter, into the water. Then, they slowly embrace their queen, Odette, and quiet her cries of sorrow.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:22 am
Originally posted May 10th, 2004Sosiqui, sitting in the papasan chair under fading sunlight and lantern-light, pulls out a pen and begins to write in a journal. Sosiqui These past days have been a lot of climbing, and a lot of worrying... okay, so the worry was mainly over if I was going to fall off this shelf, or the egg was going to roll off, or the gem... sigh. But overall, I think I have the shelf set up. All I'm waiting for now is the, er, relic that Karasu mentioned in her note. Sometimes I think I see the faint wispy forms of what must be Ieldi, flickering through the branches of the tree... but when I focus on them, they're gone. If they were ever there to begin with. It could well be that I'm seeing things. I hope the things I've hauled up here manage to attract one of them... it was a long trawl through the markets in Barton Town for them, and a longer climb up here! Hoo boy. I envy Karma her helper boy, even if he does seem to have a biting tongue from what I've seen of him. Well. I think I'll relax for a while... cuddle the egg, hold the gem bottle, and look at the sunset.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:23 am
Originally posted May 12th, 2004Sosiqui sits along the side of the shelf, legs dangling, and writes carefully in her journal: Sosiqui I've been doing research lately... driven by the little flicker of spirits that I see now and then. I'm convinced by now that they really are genuine Ieldi, as others have seen them too. I don't have my relic yet to interest them but it seems they like the lanterns. I wonder what their reaction will be when I unwrap the new ones I brought up today? Anyway, since swan feathers will decorate my relic and the Ieldi I will care for will take the form of a swan initially, I thought I'd look into things now. Mute swans are BIG birds. They mate for life, which can be a very long time... up to 50 years in some cases. Man. @_@ This is a SERIOUS long-term obligation. They also seem to have a special significance... they show up in myths a LOT. Zeus takes the form of a swan to seduce Leda in Greek myth. In the Hindu religion, a pair of swans represent perfect harmony, breath and spirit. Celtic tradition has many swan spirits, associated with healing waters and the sun. There are Celtic legends of swan shapeshifters too, which I find rather interesting... and the Vila of Serbian myth (also known as the Veela in the Harry Potter books, hehe) could transform into swans. Still, as I look at stories... it seems many tales of swans are touched by tragedy. Many are not, it's true, but a lot of them are, including the most well known swan tale, that of Swan Lake (or the Swan Princess). The last great work a man does before he dies is called his swan song... It's kind of interesting to think about. The Ieldi already have that legacy of tragedy. They have gone through the worst already and now have a new chance... Much to think about, truly.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:23 am
Originally posted May 14th, 2004Sosiqui climbs back up to her shelf, and immediately goes to her journal and pen and begins to write... Sosiqui My relic is here! It arrived late last night, actually, while I was asleep. The dim lights of my lanterns must have been enough for Rasu to see by, although I'm rather surprised she didn't wake me up. I must have been a lot more tired than I thought! Still, it is here, and it is very beautiful indeed. The door is surrounded by stylized wings and the swan feathers only add to the elegance. It's a wonderful example of very high craftmanship indeed. Last night I spent some time fiddling with the lantern light intensity so that it won't disturb others, and so that I can leave the magic active all night long. Since the Ieldi seem to be most active then I want the shelf to be interesting to them even when I'm not awake. I haven't seen any, but last night I was pretty sure I saw some odd light around Karasu's shelf that wasn't there before... Tonight I'm going to make a trip back to HQ and bring up some presents I've gotten from friends, as well as make arrangements for my kyunru egg and gem. I believe I'll leave them in the care of a capable friend of mine, Pantalai...
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:24 am
Originally posted May 14th, 2004
Sosiqui stood at the bottom of the ladder, tying a cardboard sign to the rungs with rough twine.
"Do not disturb. Shouldn't that say 'Do Not Disturb Any Further'?" came a smooth voice from behind her.
She didn't turn around, but instead finished tying the sign in place. "Only to you, dear. Care to give me a lift up? This sign seems to be in the way..."
A sigh, then strong arms picked her up. "I am not an elevator system..." the man grumbled, flexing his long black and white wings and then pushing off from the wooden terrace. He landed on the shelf and put Sosiqui neatly down, brushing his hands off afterwards as if touching something a little dirty.
She rolled her eyes at him, then put her hands on her hips and looked him up and down. "So. Pantalai. How have you been?"
The man pushed back his long blond hair and looked slightly pained at the question. "I continue to seek beauty, hope, and chase my dreams in this world, yet they elude me a-"
"... hon, can you use real words? This isn't a poetry competition," she interrupted, grinning at him.
Panta flushed, and straightened up a little. "I'm fine," he said, stiffly, ruffling his wings.
"Glad to hear it," she said. "Ready to take care of the egg and gem, I hope?"
"As ready as can be expected. It's only an egg and a... an elaborate paperweight," he said, stretching out his long neck.
"Good. You signal me with a light if they're going to hatch, and I'll come down if I'm able to. If not... take care of them. I'll know if you don't and so help me, I will cast my one spell and age you into an ugly wrinkled old man and POOF to all your beautiful long hair and lithe limbs and whichever other magnificent adjectives you've been applying to various body parts this month. Got that?"
"Yes, ma'am," Pantalai huffed, tossing his head so that his hair sparkled in the light, and that the moonlight brushed across his chiseled features just so...
Sosiqui was unmoved, and handed him egg and gem. "Now, go on... don't want you to scare the spirits after all." She all but pushed him off the side, and he spread his wings in protest.
"Very well, my dear... I'll take care of them, don't worry. I will teach them the ways of this cold, cruel world, and the glory of the moon and st-"
He squawked as Sosiqui shoved him the rest of the way off the ledge, and grumbled as he caught the wind in his wings and fluttered down to the pond. "No respect for fine oratory. None," he muttered.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:25 am
Originally posted May 14th, 2004
(A Spirit Visits...)
Pantalai eyes the spirit lights with interest, feeling a little hurt that none of them had come over to admire him. Oh well. The little gem and egg would call him Uncle Panta and fawn at his feet, he was sure.
Up on the shelf, Sosiqui watches what she is sure are spirits with bated breath. She stops her movements and stares at the swirling lights that dart in and out from the branches.
...
She sighs a little as the spirits drift away as if on the wind, and gradually fade until they are indistinguishable from the stars.
...
Then she watches another flickering light, its ether-like body swirling in tendrils, bob around the lanterns with what she hopes is an interested look.
...
She watches the spirit draw a little closer... even reaching out to touch one of the glass stones with one tendril. She licks her dry lips. "Hello?"
The thing fades so far she's almost sure it's vanished for a moment, until one of the lanterns sways in the breeze enough to show her it's still there. She swallows and remains quiet as the spirit withdraws a little bit, but still hovers around the bowl of water.
...
The spirit curls around the relic and Sosiqui practically faints right there. It's growing brighter...
Sosiqui sits up... slowly. Very slowly.
The spirit flits back a little bit, but continues to hover warily. One tendril curls down to trace over the surface of the water in the bowl, making the water ripple and throw reflected lantern light over the branches.
She takes a deep breath. "Hey... don't go away, you can play here," she says in a quiet, level, friendly voice.
The spirit hesitates...
...
The spirit hesitates, then drops down another 'feeler' into the water and gently traces along the surface, watching the ripples and reflections as if pleased.
Sosiqui, still in the papasan chair, isn't sure what to do next. What did you SAY to a spirit of a once-thriving race? Had a good death lately? How's the spirit world treating you? Need coffee after the long sleep? She settled for "I'm Sosiqui... this is 'my' shelf, but you can share it as much as you like..."
The spirit swirled the water around, then coiled another tendril around one of the glass pieces.
...
The white spirit pulls up away from the water, but keeps hold of the glass piece. Carefully, it floats over to the windchimes and brings the glass piece up to them, and whisks it quickly over the glass drops that make up the 'chime' of the windchimes. The sweet clinking melody sends the spirit swirling away... and then back, much to Sosiqui's relief. The spirit taps each of the chimes individually with the glass piece, seeming to tense and relax differently for each note.
...
The spirit drops the stone... splash! Right into the water. The splash it makes causes the spirit to swirl around again, but then it descends and seems to dip itself into the water. As if floating on top of it.
"You like swimming?" Sosiqui says tentatively.
The spirit dims a little, but then brightens again and keeps swaying slowly back and forth in the bowl.
...
Sosiqui, watching the beautiful spirit, begins to feel sleepy. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like..." she murmurs, yawning quietly. "All the pretty toys are for you, and I'll leave the lanterns on..."
The spirit seems to extend a tendril towards her... or maybe it was a trick of the light. She can't quite tell, but gets the blanket around her in a series of slow movements designed to not scare the Ieldi. And then she just watches as the spirit bobs in the water, occasionally reaching tendrils up to the light, or down to arrange the glass pieces into a different shape.
...
Sosiqui drifts off to sleep, lulled by the gentle water sounds the spirit makes, and the quiet clink of moving glass.
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Reply
Your relic is all but vibrating to pieces. The runes that were inscribed on the inside of the relic have detatched themselves and now hover about the nest. The light coming from within the relic has intensified so much that you can't see the spirit at all... it must be time!
